Systems and methods for managing events

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods consistent with the invention may include receiving, by a portal, requests from entities to become members, selectively granting the requests by the portal, receiving information by the portal from a plurality of first members, in response to requests from the first members, creating member files in the database using the received information, the files corresponding to the first members, receiving an information request by the portal from a second member, and selectively supplying by the portal to the second member, information from at least one of the files, the supplied information being selected based on the requests.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/299,769, filed Jan. 29, 2010, the entire disclosureof which is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

Systems and methods consistent with the present invention generallyrelate to event planning.

Background

Event planning involves the selection and coordination of many entitiesand activities. For example, event planners must select and manage thedelivery of many products and services to provide successful executionof an activity or event. Event planners must also carefully manage thesuppliers of these products and services to ensure that they meetparticular budget and quality constraints.

An event may be held at various types of locations, also referred to as“venues” or “sites,” such as a city convention center, a hotel, or aconference center. Some events may be held at multiple locations withina specific geographic location, such as a city-wide conference thatinvolves a convention center and several different hotels. Other events,such as the launch of a new product or service, may be heldsimultaneously at multiple locations within a country or across theworld. In such nationwide product launches, for example, a nationalcompany may solicit the help and expertise of several local planners whohave location-specific knowledge and business relationships.

Many types of vendors offer to provide products and/or services to themeeting and event industry, including caterers, audio-visual equipmentproviders, trade show services and equipment companies, florists, linencompanies, rental companies, temporary staffing companies, temporarysecurity companies, promotional materials manufacturers, decorators,entertainers, transportation companies, wholesalers, and others. Vendorsmay vary in size and geographic reach.

Event planners may use the services of other event planners where thelatter has destination-specific knowledge of the event location. Forexample, an event planner may be asked to plan and coordinate an eventthat will take place in a foreign country. The event planner may utilizethe services of a second event planner located in the foreign country,because the second event planner may have more destination-specificknowledge of the event location and the various vendors who serve thatparticular geographic area.

Event planners may also want to establish preferred relationships withparticular vendors. Such preferred relationships may allow the eventplanner to obtain optimal pricing, control the quality of the productsor services delivered, gain a greater understanding of the vendor'sproducts or services, and ensure that the vendor meets or maintainsadequate insurance to participate in an event.

When an event is planned at a specific venue, multiple vendors mayrequire access to the venue before, during, and after the event. Forexample, a company providing pipe and drape, tables, chairs, and otherequipment may require access to the venue before and after the event forset-up and break-down. A caterer providing food and beverage for theevent may require access to the location before and during the event forset-up and serving. Other vendors may also require access to the venuearound the time of the event.

The logistics involved in selecting and coordinating multiple vendorsfor a single event can be complex and time-consuming. For example, avenue may have specific insurance requirements for vendors. Also, if ahotel has only one loading dock but four different vendors must moveequipment through the dock for an event, careful coordination is neededamong the various vendors. In another example, one conference may bemoving out of a convention center at the same time that anotherconference is moving in. Alternatively, many facilities may hostmultiple events at the same time, For example, a large hotel may hostseveral weddings on the same day. The selection and coordination ofmultiple vendors for multiple events, involving one or many locations,can quickly become unmanageable.

Embodiments consistent with the present invention provide improvedcomputer-implemented systems and methods for managing event-planning,event-coordination, event-execution, procurement of products andservices for events, and payments associated with each.

SUMMARY

A computer-implemented method for managing event planning is disclosed.The method includes receiving, by a portal, requests from entities tobecome members; selectively granting the requests by the portal;receiving information by the portal from a plurality of first members;creating member files in a database using the received information inresponse to requests from the first members, the files corresponding tothe first members; receiving an information request by the portal from asecond member; and selectively supplying by the portal to the secondmember, information from at least one of the files, the suppliedinformation being selected based on the requests.

A computer-implemented method for managing event planning is disclosed.The method includes selectively granting, by a portal, requests tobecome members; receiving requests to the portal from members to be ahost for an event; designating a host by the portal, by selectivelygranting one of the member requests; receiving information regarding theevent by the portal from the host; receiving proposals for the event bythe portal from a plurality of members; receiving, by the portal fromthe host, a plurality of selections of candidate vendors based on themember proposals; receiving, by the portal from the host, a designationof a selected venue; receiving insurance requirements by the portal fromthe selected venue; receiving insurance information by the portal from aplurality of candidate vendors; performing comparisons of the insuranceinformation to the insurance requirements; and designating at least oneof the candidate vendors as an authorized vendor, based on thecomparisons.

A computer-implemented method for managing event planning is disclosed.The method includes selectively granting, by a portal, requests tobecome members; receiving requests to the portal from members to be ahost for an event; designating a host by selectively granting, by theportal, one of the member requests; receiving information regarding theevent by the portal from the host; receiving proposals for the event bythe portal from a plurality of members; receiving, from the host by theportal, a plurality of selections of candidate vendors based on themember proposals; receiving, from the host by the portal, a designationof a selected venue; receiving requests by the portal from members foraccess to an area of the selected venue; selectively granting, by theportal, the area access requests; and supplying access indicators to themembers associated with the granted access requests.

A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which whenexecuted on a processor, causes the processor to perform a method formanaging event planning, is disclosed. The method includes receiving, bya portal, requests from entities to become members; selectively grantingthe requests by the portal; receiving information by the portal from aplurality of first members; creating member files in a database usingthe received information in response to requests from the first members,the files corresponding to the first members; receiving an informationrequest by the portal from a second member; and selectively supplying bythe portal to the second member, information from at least one of thefiles, the supplied information being selected based on the requests.

A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which whenexecuted on a processor, causes the processor to perform a method formanaging event planning, is disclosed. The method includes selectivelygranting, by a portal, requests to become members; receiving requests tothe portal from members to be a host for an event; designating a host bythe portal, by selectively granting one of the member requests;receiving information regarding the event by the portal from the host;receiving proposals for the event by the portal from a plurality ofmembers; receiving, by the portal from the host, a plurality ofselections of candidate vendors based on the member proposals;receiving, by the portal from the host, a designation of a selectedvenue; receiving insurance requirements by the portal from the selectedvenue; receiving insurance information by the portal from a plurality ofcandidate vendors; performing comparisons of the insurance informationto the insurance requirements; and designating at least one of thecandidate vendors as an authorized vendor, based on the comparisons.

A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which whenexecuted on a processor, causes the processor to perform a method formanaging event planning, is disclosed. The method includes selectivelygranting, by a portal, requests to become members; receiving requests tothe portal from members to be a host for an event; designating a host byselectively granting, by the portal, one of the member requests;receiving information regarding the event by the portal from the host;receiving proposals for the event by the portal from a plurality ofmembers; receiving, from the host by the portal, a plurality ofselections of candidate vendors based on the member proposals;receiving, from the host by the portal, a designation of a selectedvenue; receiving requests by the portal from members for access to anarea of the selected venue; selectively granting, by the portal, thearea access requests; and suppling access indicators to the membersassociated with the granted access requests.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this disclosure, illustrate various exemplary embodiments andaspects consistent with the present invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary environment for facilitatingevent-planning, event-coordination, event-execution, procurement ofproducts and services for events, and payments associated with each,consistent with the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows exemplary components and information that may be associatedwith a portal in the event management system of FIG. 1 , consistent withthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for authorizing members toparticipate in an event, consistent with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for tracking vendors thataccess an event venue, consistent with the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows exemplary components and information that may be stored ina memory of a server of FIG. 2 , consistent with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for members to establishpreferred relationships with other members, consistent with the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 shows exemplary components and information that may be displayedby a web server application of FIG. 5 , consistent with the presentinvention; and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for members to makepayments to other members, consistent with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawingsand the following description to refer to the same or similar parts.While several exemplary embodiments and features of the invention aredescribed herein, modifications, adaptations, and other implementationsare possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention. For example, substitutions, additions or modifications may bemade to the components illustrated in the drawings, and the exemplarymethods described herein may be modified by substituting, reordering, oradding steps to the disclosed methods. Accordingly, the followingdetailed description does not limit the invention. Instead, the properscope of the invention is defined by the appended claims.

Systems and methods consistent with the invention generally relate toevent-planning, event-coordination, event-execution, procurement ofproducts and services for events, and payments associated with each.Such events may include weddings, conferences, symposiums, seminars,trade shows, golf tournaments, press conferences, award ceremonies, barand bat mitzvahs, meetings, nationwide product-launch parties, and otherevents where multiple vendors offer their products or services toattendees. Events may occur once or consist of a series of relatedevents occurring in various geographic locations.

In general, a system is provided, including a central facility, or“portal,” for finding, planning, selecting, scheduling, paying for,rating, or tracking products and services needed to provide successfulexecution of an event. In embodiments consistent with the invention,individuals acting on their own behalf or on behalf of a business entitypotentially or actually participating in the meeting and event industrymay interact, such as by accessing a web portal using a web browser on acomputing device. These participants may include event planners,vendors, venues, and others interested in a particular event.

Potential participants may be required to register to become a “member”before being granted access to the portal. Registration may includesupplying information and/or paying a fee. The system may imposerequirements such as evidence of financial stability before grantingmembership. Based on the type of their membership, members may obtainaccess to various features of the system. For example, if a memberwishes to be the planner of an event, or “host,” the member may pay aparticular membership fee and have the capability to create their ownmember profile or page in a member directory, have access to a memberdirectory, and view associated members' ratings. This may assist thehost in finding or selecting desirable and reliable vendors forparticular products and services for the event.

Members may list events on the portal. Once an event is listed,planners, vendors, and venues may market themselves by requesting to beselected to play their respective roles before, during, and after theevent. Of the requests received, the listing member may select a host ofthe event. Alternatively, a planner may be a member who lists the eventon the system and thus is designated the host of the event by default,For example, if a bride (non-member) selects an event planner (who is amember) to plan her wedding, the event planner may list the wedding onthe portal and may be designated the host of the event without having tootherwise be selected by the system. Additionally, the portal mayfacilitate members in collaborating with other members to obtain,select, confirm, or otherwise communicate about products, services,and/or venues related to an event.

The host may then provide event information to the system. Thisinformation may include the event's date(s), time(s), location(s), andother information related to the event. The host may also issue aRequest for Proposals, or RFP, to invite vendors, venues, and users tosubmit proposals in an attempt to be selected to supply their productsor services before, during, or after the event.

Vendors who become aware of the event either through notifications,their own research, or some other means, may submit a proposal inresponse to the RFP. Proposals may include information related toproducts and services offered by the member. Additionally, proposals mayinclude information related to products and services offered bypreferred members, as described below in relationship method 600 (FIG. 6). Member vendors who submit a proposal, or bid, may be designated as“candidate” vendors.

The host may limit the types of vendors who may view event informationor submit a proposal. Hosts may reveal information related to an eventto only select members. Alternatively, hosts may reveal information toseveral and/or all other members. For example, a host of a funeral maynot want to receive any proposals from entertainers. Similarly, venuesthat become aware of the event either through notifications, their ownresearch, or some other means, may submit a proposal to serve as alocation of the event. A host may similarly limit the types of venuesthat may view event information or submit a proposal. For example, thehost for a large meeting may not want to display event information orreceive a proposal from venues that are either in a different city orthat do not have the capacity to seat the expected number of attendees.

Of the proposals submitted, the host may select one or more vendors andvenues. Alternatively, if the venue is predetermined, the host may notaccept proposals from other venues. Additionally, if the host iscomfortable working with only a particular vendor for a particularproduct or service, the host may choose not to accept proposals fromcompeting vendors for that particular product or service. The candidatevendors selected by the host to participate in the event may bedesignated as “selected” vendors.

Embodiments consistent with the invention may allow hosts or venues toimpose certain venue-related requirements. These requirements mayinclude vendor insurance requirements, access limitations, and otherrequirements. These requirements may be displayed on the system and madeavailable to vendors, planners, and other users before or after the hosthas selected vendors. Alternatively, vendors may be exempt from one ormore insurance requirements. Hosts or venues may, for example,selectively waive insurance requirements for a vendor. Vendors notmeeting the requirements may not be permitted to view event informationor submit a proposal. Alternatively, vendors not meeting requirementsmay be permitted to view event information or submit a proposal, with anopportunity to meet the requirements at a later time.

Once a vendor is selected by a host to provide one or more products orservices, the vendor may be required to provide proof of insurance. Forexample, the selected venue may require a vendor to carry a certainamount each of vehicle, general liability, umbrella, and workers'compensation insurance. The vendor may be allowed to scan a copy ofproof of insurance and transmit a digital image of the scan to thesystem. Alternatively, the vendor may be allowed to physically supply acopy of proof of insurance to the host or venue for viewing orcertifying.

The system may compare the proof of insurance of vendors to theinsurance requirements of the venue. The comparison may be doneautomatically or manually. If a vendor is found to carry sufficientinsurance, the vendor may participate in the event as an “authorized”vendor. Alternatively, if the vendor is found to not carry sufficientinsurance, the vendor may be so informed, to enable the vendor to obtainthe proper amount of insurance and later provide proof of insurance. Thenew or modified proof of insurance may be compared to the insurancerequirements of the venue. If the vendor is found to carry sufficientinsurance, the vendor may participate in the event as an authorizedvendor. If the vendor is still found to not carry sufficient insurance,the cycle may repeat until the vendor provides sufficient proof ofinsurance.

A member vendor may require access to one or more areas of the venuebefore, during, or after the event. For example, such areas may includeloading docks, dressing rooms, kitchens, driveways, banquet rooms,hallways, parking garages/lots, freight elevators, lobbies, stages, orany other area or space associated with the venue. Embodimentsconsistent with this invention may enable improved security at thevenue, particularly if various contractors, employees, or otherassociates of various vendors wish to access various areas of the venueat various times. Authorized or candidate vendors may request to accessan area of the venue for a particular day or time. The venue or host maymanage this access on the system and grant such requests. Alternatively,vendors may reserve a time to use an area of the venue on a first-comefirst-served basis.

The system may transmit information to permit the vendors to print codedidentification cards, such as security badges or access badges, beforearriving at the venue. The system may restrict how often identificationcards may be printed and/or scanned. The system may also allow permanentbadges to be created and used repeatedly. These identification cards maybe scanned when the vendor arrives at or leaves the venue, and thescanned data may be collected by the system. The scanning ofidentification cards may additionally be used as a time-stamp in thesystem to record when a vendor enters or leaves the venue. Thetime-stamp may be used to track the vendor's movement in one or moreareas of the venue. The time-stamp may be used, for example, to notify ahost that a florist has arrived at the venue to deliver tablecenterpieces. The scanning of identification cards may also allow thevendor to receive special treatment based on the coded information. Suchspecial treatment may include, for example, meal privileges and accessto reserved and/or private areas of a venue.

Additionally, the venue may also scan a government-issued identificationcard to provide further identification verification. Suchgovernment-issued identification cards may include, for example,driver's licenses, passports, state identification cards, voterregistration cards, or any other form of identification issued by thefederal, state, or local government. Alternatively, the venue may scananother form of identification acceptable to the venue. The venue maychoose to specify alternative or additional identification verificationand forms of identification to be presented by vendors and their variouscontractors, employees, or other associates to obtain access. Acomputing device may be provided at the venue for tasks associated withthe scanning of identification cards and otherwise tracking the movementof vendors within the venue.

Embodiments consistent with the present invention may also serve as amarketplace where members may find, rate, pay, collaborate with, orotherwise interact with other members. Members may create a file, suchas a personal profile on the system. For example, members may create awebpage that describes the products and services they offer.Additionally, vendors may post materials to help market their productsand services. Such marketing information may include, for example,certifications, photographs, videos, and audio files. Members may alsorequest reviews of others' experiences with the products and servicesthey offer, and may publish these reviews in their personal profile.These profiles may be organized into a collection. For example, theprofiles may be displayed in a member directory. The system may allowmembers to view the member directory. Members may also selectively viewprofiles in the member directory. Planners, for example, may filter thevenues and/or vendors they wish to view or otherwise interact with,based on criteria that they determine. Such criteria may include, forexample, geographic location(s), the types of products and servicesoffered, and the quality of reviews received from other members.

Additionally, members may establish preferred relationships with othermembers Such relationships may allow members to sell products andservices offered by other members. Additionally, preferred relationshipsmay allow members to include products and services offered by othermembers in proposals they submit in response to RFPs. Such preferredrelationships may allow, for example, members to offer products andservices of other members at a discount. For example, an event plannermay establish a preferred relationship with a florist, one that allowsfor a 20% discount from the florist's standard pricing. Additionally,preferred relationships may allow members to establish business termsunder which to conduct business. For example, instead of negotiating andsigning a new contract for every event, the terms of the preferredrelationship may establish agreed-upon terms and conditions between thetwo members for an ongoing business relationship.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary environment 100 for event-planning,event-coordination, event-execution, procurement of products andservices for events, and payments associated with each, consistent withthe invention. As shown, environment 100 may include nodes, such asvendor nodes 102, venue nodes 104, planner nodes 106, and user nodes108. Environment 100 also includes an event portal 112. Communicationamong the vendor nodes 102, venue nodes 104, planner nodes 106, usernodes 108, and event portal 112 occurs over a communication network 114.Vendor nodes 102 may include one or more individual vendors 102 a, 102b, . . . 102 n. Venue nodes 104 may include one or more individualvenues 104 a, 104 b, . . . 104 n. Planner nodes 106 may include one ormore individual planners 106 a, 106 b, . . . 106 n. User nodes 108 mayinclude one or more individual users 108 a, 108 b, . . . 108 n.

Vendor nodes 102, venue nodes 104, planner nodes 106, user nodes 108,and portal 112 may comprise one or more computing devices, such aspersonal computers, desktop computers, laptop computers, handheldcomputing devices, mobile telephones, personal digital assistants(PDAs), servers (distributed server system), digital pens, scanners, orother types of computing devices known in the art. Such devices mayinclude a processor (e.g., a central processing unit (“CPU”)), a memory(e.g., RAM, ROM, etc.), a modem or other network communicationinterface, a user input device (e.g., keyboard, mouse, etc.), an outputdevice (e.g., display, printing, etc.), an internal storage device(e.g., hard drive), an external storage device (e.g., database onexternal servers, disk, flash memory, etc.), and/or any other computingelements necessary for processing and communicating data.

Network 114 may include one or more network types, such as a wide-areanetwork (WAN), a local-area network (LAN), the Internet, or any othertype of communication network known in the art. Network 114 may operateby wireline and/or wireless techniques and may use transmission controlprotocol/internet protocol (“TCP/IP”) or any other appropriate protocolto facilitate communication between nodes 102, 104, 106, 108, and portal112 of environment 100. Network connections between the nodes ofenvironment 100 may be established via Ethernet, telephone line,cellular channels, or other transmission media. Processors employed inembodiments consistent with the present invention may execute softwarewritten in a number of computer languages including, but not limited to,C, C++, C#, Basic, Visual Basic, Fortran, Cobol, SmallTalk, Java, Perl,HTML, XML, and other programming languages. Systems consistent with theinvention may also be used with various standards, for example, the Java2 Enterprise Edition™ (“J2EE”) standard and/or the Microsoft .NETstandard.

Vendor nodes 102 may include one or more computing devices associatedwith business entities potentially or actually providing products orservices to the meeting and event industry, Vendor nodes 102 mayadditionally include one or more computing devices associated withcontractors, employees, or other associates of a business entitypotentially or actually providing products or services to the meetingand event industry. Vendor nodes 102 may interact with venue nodes 104,planner nodes 106, user nodes 108, and portal 112 via network 114 tocommunicate information, such as marketing information, guestinformation, budget information, bidding information, deliveryinformation, venue requirements information, arrival information,departure information, identification information, and other informationrelated to event-planning, event-coordination, event-execution,procurement of products and services for events, and payments associatedwith each.

Venue nodes 104 may include one or more computing devices associatedwith business entities potentially or actually hosting an event. Suchentities may include, for example, hotels, city convention centers,conference centers, houses, clubhouses, public buildings, restaurants,or any other building or space that may serve as the physical locationof an event. The event may alternatively be hosted in a “virtual”location. Venue nodes 104 may additionally include one or more computingdevices associated with contractors, employees, or other associates of abusiness entity potentially or actually hosting an event. Venue nodes104 may interact with vendor nodes 102, planner nodes 106, user nodes108, and portal 112 over network 114 to communicate event informationrelated to event-planning, event-coordination, event-execution,procurement of products and services for events, and payments associatedwith each, as set forth above.

Planner nodes 106 may include one or more computing devices associatedwith business entities potentially or actually planning or coordinatingan event. Such entities may include, for example, event planners,meeting planners, wedding planners, brides, convention planners,conference organizers, destination management companies (DMCs),value-added resellers (VARs), and other individuals or groups ofindividuals that play a role in the planning, coordination, andexecution of an event. These entities may vary in size and geographicreach, from solo practitioners to large corporations that havesignificant business segments dedicated to event planning. For example,a large pharmaceutical manufacturer may have in-house staff dedicated toplanning events.

Planner nodes 106 may additionally include one or more computing devicesassociated with contractors, employees, or other associates of abusiness entity potentially or actually planning or coordinating anevent. Planner nodes 106 may interact with vendor nodes 102, venue nodes104, user nodes 108, and portal 112 over network 114 to communicateevent information related to event-planning, event-coordination,event-execution, procurement of products and services for events, andpayments associated with each, as set forth above.

User nodes 108 may include one or more computing devices associated withbusiness entities potentially or actually accessing or communicatingwithin environment 100 in other ways. Such entities may include, forexample, web administrators, event administrators, marketplaceadministrators, convention center directors, hotel catering managers,hotel security officers, individuals seeking event updates, brides,grooms, corporations, and attendees. User nodes 108 may additionallyinclude one or more computing devices associated with contractors,employees, or other associates of a business entity potentially oractually accessing or communicating within environment 100. User nodes108 may interact with vendor nodes 102, venue nodes 104, planner nodes106, and portal 112 over network 114 to communicate event informationrelated to event-planning, event-coordination, event-execution,procurement of products and services for events, and payments associatedwith each, as set forth above.

Portal 112 may include one or r core computing devices associated withbusiness entities potentially or actually communicating, storing,presenting, or processing the information communicated withinenvironment 100. For example, portal 112 may comprise a personalcomputer, a mainframe computer, or any other server computing deviceknown in the art. The server may host a website. Portal 112 may be, forexample, a web server, or any other type of computing device or systemcapable of performing the functions described herein. Portal 112 mayinteract with vendor nodes 102, venue nodes 104, planner nodes 106, anduser nodes 108 over network 114 to communicate event information relatedto event-planning, event-coordination, event-execution, procurement ofproducts and services for events, and payments associated with each, asset forth above.

Although environment 100 is described as having particular componentsarranged in a particular manner, one skilled in the art will appreciatethat environment 100 may include additional or fewer components that maybe arranged differently. For example, environment 100 may be implementedwith a plurality of portals 112 and/or no user nodes 108.

FIG. 2 is a representation of the components and information of portal112 in further detail. A server 200 may comprise a personal computer, amainframe computer, or any other server computing device known in theart. Server 200 may be, for example, a server hosting a website. Server200 may include a memory 210, a processor 220, input/output devices 230,and/or a network interface 240 for communicating on network 114.

As shown, memory 210 may store an operating system, such as DOS,Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux. Memory 210 may also store one or moreapplication programs, such as word processing, database programs,spreadsheet programs, presentation programs, and graphics programs, orother programs capable of generating documents, emails, alerts,notifications, or other electronic content. Memory 210 may also includeweb server applications capable of rendering standard Internet contentin the form of web pages, accessible by client browsers, such asNetscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, or Mozilla Firefox.Memory 210 may be used to store instructions, forming applicationprograms which may be executed by processor 220 to cause server 200 toimplement the functions of portal 112.

Input/output devices 230 may include one or more components allowingpreparation, modification, or operation of portal 112. For example,input/output devices 230 may include user input devices such as akeyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touch pad, a touch screen, a microphone,an accelerometer, or any other user input device known in the art.Input/output devices 230 may also include output devices such as adisplay (e.g., an LCD, a CRT display, or a plasma display), a printer, aspeaker, or any other output device known in the art.

Network interface 240 may comprise any communication device for sendingand receiving data. Network interface 240 may include, for example, amodem, a transceiver, a set-top box, a network communication card, asatellite dish, an antenna, or another network adapter capable oftransmitting and receiving data over network 114.

Server 200 may respond to requests from vendor nodes 102, venue nodes104, planner nodes 106, or user nodes 108 received from network 114 inconnection with embodiments consistent with the present invention. It isnoted that server 200 may comprise a single server computer or acollection of server computers, alone or in combination with othercomponents. Server 200 may, for example, be part of a distributed servernetwork (not shown) and may distribute data for parallel processing toone or more additional servers on the distributed network.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an exemplary method, which may be performed byportal 112, for authorizing members to participate in an event. Memberauthorization method 300 may be performed, for example, separately foreach event. Alternatively, method 300 may be performed for a collectionof events, some or all of which are managed in portal 112. Additionally,method 300 may be performed periodically.

In step 302, portal 112 may receive a request from planners 106 tobecome a member planner. Without registering, planners 106 may not bepermitted to navigate, view, display, bid, track, administer, submit,store, exchange, and/or otherwise access the information exchanged orstored in environment 100. For example, planners 106 may become a memberthrough a website implemented in portal 112 by providing informationsuch as their name, company name, company address, contact information,billing address, credit card information, banking information, the typesof products or services they provide, and/or additional information thatmay help to create a unique identity within environment 100.

In step 306, portal 112 may similarly receive a request from vendors 102to become a member vendor. Without registering, vendors 102 may not bepermitted to access the information in environment 100, as set forthabove. For example, vendors 102 may be permitted to become a member byproviding unique information, as set forth above.

Similar to steps 302 and 306, portal 112 may additionally receive arequest from venues 104 to become a member venue. Portal 112 mayadditionally receive a request from users 108 to become a member user.Without registering, venues 104 and users 108 may not be permitted toaccess the event information in environment 100, as set forth above. Forexample, venues 104 or users 108 may be permitted to become members byproviding unique information, as set forth above.

Vendors 102 may provide background information related to theirbusiness. In step 308, portal 112 may receive information related to thebusiness(es) of vendors 102, including the types of products andservices they offer and the geographic area(s) where the products andservices are offered. Portal 112 may also receive information related topreferences. The geographic areas may be organized or identified throughthe use of postal codes such as ZIP Codes™. Vendors 102 may also providelists of the products and services offered, including wholesale and/orsuggested retail pricing. For example, a product list may includestock-keeping unit (SKU) numbers, product descriptions, photos, videos,audio content, and other information that describes the products andservices listed. Note also that step 308 may additionally occur afterand/or in parallel with step 314. In such a scenario, vendors 102 mayupdate their information as it changes.

In step 310, portal 112 may respond to step 302 and grant one or more ofthe planner requests, designating one or more planners 106 as memberplanners, to have access to portal 112. Registration, and thus access,may be granted when a membership fee is paid. The membership fee maygrant registration, and thus access, to planners 106 for only a limitedtime and/or a limited scope. For example, planners 106 may pay amembership fee that may allow access for 30 days, 1 year, or 3 years. Toavoid being later denied access to portal 112, planners 106 may be giventhe option to automatically renew membership. In order to permit thisoption, planners 106 may have to agree to allow a membership fee to belater-charged to the billing information that was entered in step 302.

Additionally, different membership fees may allow planners 106 toparticipate in and/or view information related to only a subset of theevents managed in portal 112. For example, certain membership fees mayallow planners 106 to list events, generate coupon codes, enterinsurance information, add and edit user information, and edit userprofiles or pages, while other membership fees may allow more or fewercapabilities. Alternatively, registration may be granted for free forplanner requests. Registration may also be granted for free for alimited period of time, or trial period, to planner requests accompaniedby a coupon. The coupon may be a trial code, a discount code, or anotherwise secret and personal identifier.

Notifications may be delivered to planners 106 near the end of the freeregistration period as a reminder to pay a membership fee that allowsaccess as set forth above. Additionally, planners 106 may be given theopportunity to upgrade membership during the trial period. Memberplanners 106 may be given unique usernames, identifications, loginpasswords, and/or registration numbers that may allow access to portal112.

In step 314, portal 112 may respond to step 306 and grant one or more ofthe vendor requests, designating one or more vendors 102 as membervendors, to have access to portal 112. Registration, and thus access,may be granted when a membership fee is paid or waived, as set forthabove. Additionally, different membership fees may allow vendors 102 toparticipate in, bid on, and/or view information related to only a subsetof the events managed in portal 112. For example, certain membershipfees may allow vendors 102 to submit bids for events, list events,generate coupon codes, enter insurance information, add and edit userinformation, and edit user profiles, as described in FIG. 5 .Alternatively, other membership fees may allow more or fewercapabilities. Registration may also be granted for free for vendorrequests. Registration may also be granted for free for a limited periodof time to vendor requests accompanied by a coupon, as set forth above.The coupon may be provided by any of vendors 102, venues 104, planners106, or users 108 to help offset all or some of the event fees forvendors 102.

Notifications may also be delivered to vendors 102 near the end of thefree registration period as a reminder to pay a membership fee thatallows access as set forth above. Member vendors 102 may be given uniqueusernames, identifications, login passwords, and/or registration numbersthat may allow access to portal 112.

Similar to steps 310 and 314, portal 112 may additionally grant one ormore of the venue requests, designating one or more venues 104 as membervenues, to have access to portal 112, as set forth above. Portal 112 mayadditionally grant one or more of the user requests, designating one ormore users 108 as member users, to have access to portal 112, as setforth above.

In step 318, portal 112 may receive information related to an event.Portal 112 may receive, for example, a designation of a member planner106 as the host planner for the event. For example, a member bride maytransmit to portal 112 a selection of a member planner 106 to be thehost for her wedding. The host may be given the capability to makedecisions related to the event managed in portal 112. The host may, forexample, have the final authority in selecting vendors as described instep 326. Additionally, portal 112 may receive, from venues 104 orplanners 106, event names, event dates, event times, event categories,event planner names, the intended attendees' names, or additionalinformation related to the event. As a result of receiving thisinformation, portal 112 may place the event on a calendar that may beviewed by vendors 102, venues 104, planners 106, or users 108. Portal112 may selectively allow vendors 102, venues 104, planners 106, and/orusers 108 to view the event or calendar information. Alternatively,vendors 102, venues 104, planners 106, and/or users 108 may invite othervendors 102, venues 104, planners 106, and/or users 108 to view orreceive notifications related to one or more events.

In step 322, vendors 102, venues 104, planners 106, and/or users 108 mayselectively send one or more RFPs related to an event to one or morevendors 102, venues 104, planners 106, and/or users 108 via portal 112.Alternatively, the event may be open to all vendors 102, venues 104,planners 106, and/or users 108 to submit proposals. The request may berelated to one or more products or services related to the event.

Additionally in step 322, one or more vendors 102, venues 104, planners106, and/or users 108 may reply to the RFP by submitting a proposal, theproposal and related information being received by portal 112. Forexample, the proposal may contain details about the products or servicesbeing offered, a quote for how much the vendor will charge for theproducts or services, attachments included with the proposal, and/orother information related to replying to an RFP related to an event.Alternatively, a proposal may be received from venues 104 and containdetails about areas within venue 104 that may accommodate the event.Such details may include, for example, the availability of privatedining rooms and menus from a restaurant venue. Additionally, multiple,competing proposals may be received from one or more vendors 102 inresponse to the RFP, offering identical or similar products or servicesfor an event.

Proposals may be populated with additional information related to theresponding vendors 102, venues 104, planners 106, and/or users 108. Suchinformation may include, for example, terms and conditions associatedwith the proposal, logos, marketing information, and other informationrelated to submitting a proposal in response to an RFP. This informationmay be stored in event database 530 (FIG. 5 ). Additionally, venues 104and DMCs may populate proposals with general destination informationrelated to the geographic location of the event venue. Such destinationinformation may include, for example, photographs of local attractions,lists of nearby restaurants, and other information that may assist hostsin deciding where to hold an event. The destination information may alsobe provided to attendees of an event. This information may be stored inevent database 530 (FIG. 5 ).

Additionally, members may include products and services offered by othermembers in their proposal. A member may include products and services ofa preferred and/or reseller member, as explained below in relationshipmethod 600. Alternatively, a member may similarly create another RFPidentifying the products and services of other members that the memberwould like to include in their proposal. Planners 106, for example, maywant to provide a package deal that may include several products andservices provided by one or more vendors 102, in submitting a proposalin response to an RFP. Portal 112 may send this additional RFP toanother member. Based on the response to the additional RFP, the membermay include products and services provided by another member. Thisprocess of including products and services offered by other members intoa proposal may occur with the products or services of one or moremembers.

Portal 112 may store information and log communications related to step322. Information received in step 322 may be displayed to the host of anevent. Additionally, portal 112 may display to vendors 102, venues 104,planners 106, or users 108 a list of one or more of their respectivereplies to RFPs associated with one or more events, and informationassociated with and/or submitted with the replies. Member vendors 102submitting proposals may alternatively be designated as candidatevendors. Additionally, member venues 104 submitting proposals mayalternatively be designated as candidate venues.

In step 326, port& 112 may receive from a host one or more selections ofvendors 102 for their products or services, in response to step 322. Thehost may select one or more vendors 102 as selected vendors 102. Thecriteria used to select vendors 102 may vary from event to event, orfrom planner to planner. For example, the host may select vendors 102based on the lowest bid submitted with a proposal in step 322,Alternatively, the host may view reviews and ratings on member profilesof vendors 102 stored in portal 112 and select a vendor 102 based onother planners' experiences with and/or the reputation of vendor 102.Alternatively, the host may select vendors 102 based on a combination ofthe above selection criteria. Portal 112 may then generate and deliverpurchase orders, invoices, or other information related to theacceptance of a proposal.

In step 330, portal 112 may receive from a host one or more selectionsof venues 104 for hosting an event. Before and/or after the selection ofa venue 104, portal 112 may provide to venues 104 a mechanism to directvendors 102 to any requirements that the venue 104 has established. Forexample, venues 104 may define access requirements, insurancerequirements, fees, or other terms and conditions of the venue forhosting an event and/or for allowing vendors 102, planners 106, or users108 access to venue 104.

Venues 104 may specify insurance requirements for vendors 102,associated with an event, In step 334, portal 112 may receive insurancerequirements from venues 104. Venues 104 may specify a general,venue-specific minimum insurance amount that vendors 102 may be requiredto carry. Alternatively, venues 104 may specify particular insurancerequirements in addition to the specific minimum amount. For example,venue 104 may require vendors 102 to carry $1,000,000 in generalliability insurance. Alternatively, venue 104 may require vendors 102 tocarry $250,000 for each of vehicle, general liability, umbrella, andworkers' compensation insurance, and so forth.

In order for member vendors 102 to participate in an event, they may berequired to provide information and/or supporting documentationregarding their vehicle, general liability, umbrella, workers'compensation, and/or other insurance, as explained in step 338.Candidate, selected, and/or authorized member vendors 102 may view orreview such insurance requirements, provided by venues 104 in step 334.Additionally, venues 104 may modify insurance requirements at any time.When venues 104 modify insurance requirements, step 342, as describedbelow, may be repeated.

Note also that steps 330 and 334 may additionally occur before and/or inparallel with step 318. In such a scenario, vendors 102 may view venuerequirements or calculate costs, taxes, and other fees prior and/orsubsequent to submitting a proposal in reply to an RFP.

In step 338, selected vendors 102 may be required to provide portal 112with information and/or supporting documentation regarding theirvehicle, general liability, umbrella, workers' compensation, and/orother insurance. Vendors 102 may transmit one or more insurancecertificates to portal 112. For example, vendors 102 may provide portal112 with a digital insurance certificate as proof that they carryinsurance. Alternatively, vendors 102 may be allowed to scan a copy ofproof of insurance and provide portal 112 with a digital image of thescan through, for example, an email submission. Vendors 102 may also beallowed to send a photocopy of proof of insurance to planners 106 orvenues 104 for viewing, verifying, and/or certifying. Vendors 102 may beallowed to otherwise provide detailed insurance information.

Vendors 102 may be allowed to modify any insurance information they havesubmitted. Additionally, portal 112 may provide a service to certifythat insurance information and/or digital insurance certificatesprovided by selected vendors 102 are authentic and/or accurate. Portal112 may also provide a way to review, reverify, and/or recertify anyinsurance information modified by vendors 102. Portal 112 may alsonotify vendors 102 of upcoming insurance-coverage expirations.

Vendors 102 may already have provided proof of insurance in relation toanother event managed in portal 112. If the proof of insurance hadalready been certified and/or verified by portal 112 and is still validand/or sufficient, portal 112 may not require vendors 102 to provideadditional proof of insurance. To facilitate this procedure, portal 112may store insurance data and selectively provide access to this data topermit vendors 102 to manage or keep track of verified and unverifiedinsurance certificates.

In step 342, portal 112 may determine whether selected vendors 102 carrysufficient insurance to meet the requirements of venues 104. Portal 112may perform step 342 by comparing submitted certificates of vendors 102,as received in step 338, with the requirements of venues 104, asreceived in step 334. This comparison may be accomplished automaticallyand/or manually. For example, planners 106, venues 104, or users 108 mayphysically review and compare the amounts of insurance required byvenues 104 and carried by vendors 102. Planners 106, venues 104, orusers 108 may also review the insurance certificates submitted byvendors 102 for accuracy and appropriateness. Alternatively, thecomparisons may be completed automatically.

If candidate vendors 102 are found to carry sufficient insurance to meetthe insurance requirements of venue 104, portal 112 may proceed to step346, where they are designated as authorized vendors. Otherwise, vendors102 may be given an opportunity to update, delete, and/or modify one ormore proofs of insurance. In such a situation, portal 112 may return tostep 338. Additionally, if vendors 102 modify or otherwise change one ormore proofs of insurance, portal 112 may return to step 338. Portal 112may log any such submissions, changes, verifications, denials,modifications, or other details associated with proofs of insurancereceived from vendors 102.

Vendors 102 may view insurance details related to certificates they, orsomeone on their behalf, have uploaded, deleted, and or modified. Forexample, vendors 102 may filter such insurance details by the outcome ofeach verification process. Additionally, venues 104 or planners 106 mayview, print, email, or otherwise organize insurance details of selectedvendors 102. This may allow venues 104 or planners 106 to determine ifone or more vendors 102 have outstanding insurance obligations.Alternatively, portal 112 may email or otherwise notify venues 104 orplanners 106 if one or more vendors 102 have outstanding insuranceobligations. This may give venues 104 and/or planners 106 an opportunityto select alternative vendors. that meet the insurance requirementsreceived in step 334. The same or similar notifications may be sent tovendors 102 as a reminder to update, delete, or modify one or moreproofs of insurance.

Alternatively, one or more vendors 102 may be exempt from one or moreinsurance requirements of venue 104. For example, some vendors 102 mayhave no employees. If venue 104 allows a workers' compensation waiver,vendors 102 may accept the terms and/or conditions of the waiver,Additionally, if a vendor 102 does not own, maintain, or operate avehicle, portal 112 may exempt that vendor from carrying vehicleinsurance.

Alternatively, venues 104 may exclude selected vendors 102 or users 108from being subjected to the insurance requirements, allowing them to beauthorized despite not carrying sufficient insurance. If vendors 102meets insurance requirements of venues 104 other than those for whichvendors 102 are exempt, then portal 112 may proceed to step 346.

In step 346, portal 112 acknowledges that a candidate vendor 102 carriessufficient insurance to participate in an event at venue 104. A membervendor 102 who is a candidate, is selected, and/or carries sufficientinsurance may be designated as an authorized vendor 102. Authorizedvendors 102 may participate in the event, schedule times to use one ormore areas of venue 104, and/or communicate over network 114 with othervendors 102, venues 104, planners 106, users 108, and portal 112regarding the event. Portal 112 may allow one or more members to viewinsurance information of authorized vendors 102 in a member directory,stored and organized in event database 530 (FIG. 5 ).

Alternatively, portal 112 may automatically authorize member vendors102, venues 104, planners 106, or users 108 at an earlier step and allowsteps 338 and 342 to be fulfilled at a later time. This may allow, forexample, vendors 102 to view and plan for the event while insurancedetails are finalized. The venue may require, however, that vendors 102have proof of insurance verified and/or certified prior to physicallyentering venue 104.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary method for tracking vendors thataccess an event venue, which may be performed and/or managed by portal112. Tracking method 400 may be performed, for example, separately foreach event. Alternatively, method 400 may be performed for tracking acollection of events, some or all of which are managed in portal 112.

In step 410, portal 112 may receive requests from candidate, selected,or authorized member vendors 102 or users 108 to obtain physical accessto one or more areas of venues 104. The requests may contain specificdetails. For example, the requests may include descriptions of specificareas for which access is requested and the number or identifications ofindividuals that desire access to the area. The requests may furtherindicate the time, date, or total number of days on which vendors 102desire access to venues 104. Additionally, the requests may furtherindicate the number of individuals needing access each day.Alternatively, requests may include a request for a plurality of accessbadges for an event.

Step 410 may be performed during the authorization process, at or afterstep 322 (FIG. 3 ). In this way, for example, when vendors 102 submitproposals, as in step 322, vendors 102 may determine how much inadditional fees, if any, will be charged to obtain access to venues 104.This may assist vendors 102 to submit a more accurate bid for deliveringproducts or services to an event. For example, vendor 102 may requestone or more access indicators, as described in step 430 below. If venues104 charge a fee for each indicator, vendors 102 may take into accountthe total fees for indicators before submitting a final proposal for anevent. Alternatively, step 410 may be performed after step 346.

In step 420, portal 112 may respond to step 410 and grant one or more ofthe requests for access to one or more areas of venues 104. The requestsmay be granted automatically by portal 112 based on criteria receivedfrom venues 104. Portal 112 may not, for example, grant more than onerequest for access to an area of venue 104 for a particular time on aparticular day. Alternatively, hosts or venues 104 may manually grantindividual requests.

In step 430, portal 112 may supply indicators of access, as granted instep 420. Access indicators may include, for example, passes, accessbadges, person-specific badges, electronic key fobs, security tokens,and vehicle badges. Access indicators may contain a bar-code that may bescanned by a scanning device known in the art.

The access indicators may be physically delivered to vendors 102.Alternatively, the access indicators may be electronically delivered to,or retrieved from portal 112 by, vendors 102. For example, the requestedindicators may be prepared and mailed to vendors 102. Alternatively, therequested indicators may be emailed to vendors 102, and vendors 102 mayprint the indicators prior to accessing venues 104. Additionally,vendors 102 may only be allowed to print or email printable indicatorsafter sufficient payment is received or billing information issubmitted. Such billing information may include, for example, couponcodes. Vendors 102 may be prohibited from printing the same indicatormore than once.

Vendors 102 may further supply indicators for a specific day or aspecific area of a specific venue to the appropriate people that will beaccessing venues 104. The appropriate people may be contractors,employees, or other associates of vendors 102, venues 104, planners 106,or users 108. This may allow, for example, temporary employees ofvendors 102 the ability to view and print the appropriate indicator forthe appropriate day, without the temporary employee having to registerwith portal 112 and/or otherwise be a member. Additionally, theindicator may be scanned and allow successful entry into venues 104 onlyon the specific day for which it has been issued. Alternatively, if theindicator allows for access to venues 104 across multiple days, theindicator may be scanned and allow successful entry into venues 104 onany of the days for which the indicator allows access. Alternatively,multiple indicators may be required to be printed for access to venues104 across multiple days, and one indicator may be scanned and allowsuccessful entry into venue 104 on only one of the days for which theindicator allows access. A different indicator may be required to bescanned, for example with a different bar-code, on each separate daywithin the range of days for which vendors 102 have been granted accessto venues 104.

In step 440, portal 112 may receive tracking information from scans ofthe access indicators. Access indicators may be scanned when vendors 102enter and/or exit venues 104. For example, security guards at venues 104may scan access indicators. If portal 112 recognizes an indicator asbelonging to someone that has been granted access to one or more areasof venue 104, they may be allowed to enter. Alternatively, if theindicator is not one that portal 112 recognizes as allowing access toone or more areas of venue 104 at the particular date and/or time, thenthey may not be avowed to enter venue 104. Additionally, an indicatorthat has been scanned for entry into venue 104 may not be used again,other than to exit venue 104.

Additionally, venues 104 may scan government-issued identification ofvendors 102 using any scanning device known in the art. Theidentification may complement an indicator and provide furtheridentification verification. For example, an OCR scanner may be used toscan the identification, and the text may be converted to data that maybe received by portal 112. Alternatively, a barcode scanner may be usedto scan the identification's bar-code. Alternatively, a reader may beused to retrieve information stored on a magnetic stripe. Alternatively,a security guard may type the identification information of vendors 102by hand into a computing device, and the information may be received byportal 112.

Portal 112 may generate signals to request that a contractor of vendors102 come to venue 104 to address an issue. Alternatively, a contractormay be invited by venue 104 to enter and address an issue. The issue mayarise with no advance notice, and the contractor will need access tovenue 104 in a short amount of time. Thus, it may not be practical torequire the contractor to register and be authorized to access venue 104by portal 112. To track such unexpected visitors to venues 104, the useof a digital pen and/or pre-printed forms may allow the contractor tosign-in to venue 104. The contractor may be required to use a digitalpen to complete a pre-printed form, and the writing data may be capturedby the digital pen. For example, the form may require contractors toenter their name, the event name, event date, event time, check-in time,check-out time, and/or sign the form. The captured data may be receivedby portal 112. The completed form may also be used by the contractor asa temporary, physical badge for access to one or more areas of venue104. Venues 104 may similarly allow access to one or more areas of venue104 to individuals without an indicator or individuals who are notauthorized, as they determine. Alternatively, vendors 102 may use accessindicators supplied in step 430.

Some or all of the tracking data may be received by and/or stored inportal 112, Additionally, tracking data may be organized, summarized, orpresented to vendors 102, venues 104, planners 106, or users 108.Additionally, tracking data may be supplied to vendors 102, venues 104,planners 106, or users 108. For example, tracking data may be viewed ona webpage of portal 112. Alternatively, tracking data may be sent byportal 112 as an email or notification to a computing device inenvironment 100.

FIG. 5 is a representation, in further detail, of the components andinformation that may be stored in server memory 210 (FIG. 2 ),consistent with the present invention. As shown, memory 210 may includean operating system 510, a web server application 520, a portaladministration application 525, and an event database 530.

Web server application 520 may comprise one or more webpage-hostingand/or database-accessing applications configured to generate signalsproviding display of information on client browser applications. Eventdatabase 530 may contain vendor information, venue information,destination information, scheduling information, event information,insurance information, member information, access indicator information,RFP information, proposals information, membership information,permissions information, preferences information, coupon information,help information, marketing information, review information, ratingsinformation, preferred-member relationship information, resellerrelationship information, resale information, pricing information,discount information, payment information, purchase information, orderinformation, invoice information, billing information, financial accountinformation, negotiation information, notification information,geographic information, or other information related to event-planning,event-coordination, event-execution, procurement of products andservices for events, and payments associated with events in portal 112.Additionally, event database 530 may contain log information associatedwith each of these. Processor 220 (FIG. 2 ) may leverage and executeoperating system 510, web server application 520, portal administrationapplication 525, and/or event database 530 in portal 112. Portaladministration application 525 may interact with web server application520 and event database 530 to implement the described functions ofportal 112.

Event database 530 may store information related to members inenvironment 100. A member directory may also be created in portal 112.The member directory may be a collection or organization of the memberinformation stored in event database 530. Portal 112 may allow one ormore members to view information regarding other members.

Members may be permitted to create a custom file, profile, page, entry,or other presentation of information within the member directory, withinformation about the products or services they offer. Members mayenhance their profile in the directory by adding or displaying marketingmaterials. For example, if the directory is in the form of aweb-directory, members may post links to videos, pictures, award logos,or other information that would help explain the products or servicesthey offer. Additionally, portal 112 may provide default logos, art, orother information that may be useful to members in creating theirdirectory profile.

Portal 112 may also allow vendors 102, venues 104, planners 106, orusers 108 to request ratings and/or reviews of the products or servicesoffered by the member. These requests may be directed to one or morevendors 102, venues 104, planners 106, and/or users 108. The requestsmay be delivered electronically, and the recipient may be notifiedelectronically that a request has been delivered. Portal 112 may providedefault wording to include with the request. Vendors 102, venues 104,planners 106, and/or users 108 may additionally provide wording toinclude with the request. Portal 112 may receive a request from vendor102, for example, to send a request for a review to planner 106. Thereview may be related to the products or services delivered or providedby vendor 102 during an event. Planner 106 may submit a review to portal112 in response to the request. Additionally, vendors 102 may requestrevisions of reviews in a similar manner. This information may be storedin event database 530.

The review may further include some type of rating. For example,planners 106 may award vendors 102 five stars, out of five possible,when planners 106 are extremely pleased with the products or services ofvendors 102. Users 108 may also, for example, award planners 106 arating of “1,” out of “10” possible, when users 108 are extremelydissatisfied with the products or services of planners 106.Additionally, reviews may contain comments describing the performance ofthe review-requesting member. Information contained in reviews may belogged and/or stored in event database 530. Review-requesting membersmay view the information contained in the review. Portal 112 may receivesuch requests from vendors 102, venues 104, planners 106 or users 108.This information may be stored in event database 530.

Portal 112 may receive ratings associated with one member, from one ormore other members. Portal 112 may calculate an average rating, based onall of the ratings submitted, for the particular member. Members may bepermitted to post information from one or more such reviews to theirprofile in the member directory. This information may be stored in eventdatabase 530. The member directory may selectively allow members to viewratings, average of ratings, comments, and/or reviews associated with amember. Portal 112 may also selectively allow non-members to viewratings, average of ratings, comments, and/or reviews associated with amember. For example, a planner 106 may privately share comments about aparticular vendor 102 with one or more other planners 106.Alternatively, a planner 106 may publically share comments about aparticular vendor 102 with every other member.

Members may be permitted to modify their information. Vendors 102 orvenues 104 may, for example, be permitted to modify their contactinformation, password, or other member-specific information. Members mayalso be permitted to modify which and/or how information is presented ontheir profile in the member directory.

Portal 112 may allow a member to selectively view information related toa subset of members in the member directory. The member may, forexample, elect to view only hotel venues and not convention centers.Alternatively, the member may elect to view only florists and/or othervendors serving a particular geographic area and with a rating of fouror five stars. Portal 112 may, for example, selectively display vendorsthat have particular ratings or provide particular products or services,as determined by the member. The member may also elect to only viewinformation related to events for which they have been authorized.

Additionally, portal 112 may provide information to members so that theymay more easily utilize the directory. For example, there may beinformation entitled “Help” that answers “Frequently Asked Questions”for members.

Portal 112 may organize information stored in event database 530 andallow members to print the information. For example, portal 112 mayenable vendors 102 to print a receipt for the event. Portal 112 may alsoenable venues 104 to print a list of candidate or authorized membervendors for an event. Planners 106 may print summaries, for example, offees received, transactions reports, monthly portal usage reports,existing listed event reports, or any reports, summaries, or otherorganization of the information stored in event database 530.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an exemplary method, which may be performed by.portal 112, for a member to establish a preferred relationship withother members, which may be performed and/or managed by portal 112.Relationship method 600 may be performed, for example, for some or allof vendors 102, venues 104, planners 106, and users 108.

Portal 112 may allow members to selectively view information related toother members in the member directory stored in event database 530 (FIG.5 ). Members may additionally want to establish a preferred relationshipwith other vendors. A preferred relationship may allow members to workin collaboration with each other, Additionally, a preferred relationshipmay allow one member to vouch for the quality or pricing of the productsor services offered by another member. Further, portal 112 may enforcethat employees of a member correspond only with another “preferred”member,

After viewing information related to other members in the memberdirectory, a member may identify potential members with whom toestablish a preferred relationship, or potential business partners, Instep 602, portal 112 may receive requests from candidate, selected, orauthorized members with information identifying the member planners 106,venues 104, users 108, or vendors 102 with whom they would like toestablish a preferred relationship.

Additionally, relationship-requesting members may include informationrelated to the preferred relationship. The included information mayassist potential business partners in determining whether the preferredrelationship is desirable and/or possible. Such information may include,for example, terms and conditions for being business partners, feesassociated with the preferred relationship, insurance requirements, andother information related to becoming business partners. Thisinformation may be stored in event database 530 (FIG. 5 ). Thisinformation may also be included with step 606, as described below.

In step 606, portal 112 may send invitations for establishing apreferred relationship to potential business partners identified in step602. Invitations may be sent automatically and/or manually. Invitationsmay also be sent electronically and/or physically. For example, vendors102 may have specified their mailing address, and a preference forreceiving information related to preferred relationships by mail, instep 308 (FIG. 3 ). Alternatively, if no such preferences exist, theinvitation may be sent automatically as an email or notification afterstep 602. Portal 112 may allow potential business partners to solicitadditional information from relationship-requesting members.Additionally, portal 112 may allow potential business partners to acceptor reject the invitation.

In step 610, portal 112 may receive a response to the invitation fromthe potential business partner. If the response accepts the invitation,portal 112 may proceed to step 614. Otherwise, therelationship-requesting member may identify another potential businesspartner. In such a situation, portal 112 may return to step 602.

In step 614, portal 112 may determine whether potential businesspartners meet the information and requirements related to the preferredrelationship. This information may be provided by therelationship-requesting member in step 602 and included with theinvitation sent in step 606. Similar to step 342 (FIG. 3 ), thecomparison performed in step 614 may be accomplished automaticallyand/or manually. For example, planners 106 requesting the preferredrelationship may physically review and compare the amounts of insurancethey require, to the amount carried by the potential business partner.Alternatively, the comparison may be completed automatically.

If potential business partners are found to meet the information andrequirements of the relationship-requesting member, portal 112 mayproceed to step 618, where they are designated as preferred members. Forexample, vendors 102 who, in step 610, accept an invitation to establisha preferred relationship and who meet the requirements and informationrelated to the preferred relationship, as specified in step 602, may bedesignated as preferred vendors. Otherwise, potential business partnersmay be given an opportunity to update, delete, and/or modify informationassociated with their products, services, and other information relatedto the desirability and possibility of establishing a preferredrelationship. In such a situation, portal 112 may return to step 606.Additionally, if the potential business partners modify or otherwisechange any of their information, portal 112 may return to step 606.Portal 112 may log any such invitations, changes, verifications,denials, acceptances, modifications, or other information related to thedesirability and possibility of establishing a preferred relationship.

In step 618, the potential business partner may be designated as apreferred member. A preferred member may, for example, benefit fromfavorable, pre-negotiated pricing, pre-negotiated terms & conditions,and a level of exclusivity between the two members.

In step 622, relationship-requesting members may additionally oralternatively request to be resellers for preferred members. A resellermay be authorized to incorporate a preferred member's products orservices into a proposal submitted in step 322 (FIG. 3 ) without havingto obtain additional permissions from the preferred member. Portal 112may provide tools and content to allow such incorporation. A resellermay also be authorized to sell a preferred member's products orservices. A relationship-requesting planner 106 may, for example,request to be a reseller in order to offer and sell products andservices that a preferred vendor 102 listed, described, or otherwisesubmitted in step 308 (FIG. 3 ).

In step 626, portal 112 may send an invitation for establishing areseller relationship to the preferred member identified in step 622.The invitation may be sent automatically and/or manually. The invitationmay also be sent electronically and/or physically. For example, vendors102 may have specified their mailing address, and a preference forreceiving information related to reseller relationships by mail, in step308 (FIG. 3 ). Alternatively, if no such preferences exist, theinvitation may be sent automatically as an email or notification afterstep 622. Portal 112 may allow preferred members to solicit additionalinformation from relationship-requesting members. Additionally, portal112 may allow preferred members to accept or reject the invitation.

In step 630, portal 112 may receive a response to the request from thepreferred member. If the response accepts the invitation, portal 112 mayproceed to step 634. Otherwise, the relationship-requesting member mayidentify another preferred member. In such a situation, portal 112 mayreturn to step 622. Alternatively, in such a situation, portal 112 mayreturn to step 602.

In step 634, the relationship-requesting member may be designated as areseller member. A reseller may be authorized to incorporate a preferredmember's products or services into a proposal submitted in step 322(FIG. 3 ) without having to obtain additional permissions from thepreferred member. Additionally, a reseller may be authorized toincorporate a preferred member's products or services in ecommercestorefronts 700 (FIG. 7 ), as described below. A reseller may also beauthorized to incorporate a preferred member's electronic material orelectronic materials associated with the preferred member. Suchelectronic materials may include, for example, photographs, logos, andvideos of the preferred member performing.

Preferred vendors 102, for example, may determine which products andservices they would like to make available to relationship-requestingplanner 106 for resale from among those listed, described, or otherwisesubmitted in step 308 (FIG. 3 ). In the same example, preferred vendors102 and relationship-requesting planner 106 may negotiate the terms ofthe reseller relationship. Such terms, or information, may include, forexample, discounts off the wholesale pricing published by preferredvendor 102, fees associated with the reseller relationship, chargesassociated with the reseller relationship, and other information relatedto reseller relationships. This information may be stored in eventdatabase 530 (FIG. 5 ).

In step 638, portal 112 may receive information from therelationship-requesting member related to the reseller relationship.Such information may include, for example, a retail price that therelationship-requesting member has assigned for the products andservices associated with those negotiated in the reseller relationship.For example, once the members in the reseller relationship have agreedon a price for particular products and services, therelationship-requesting member may assign a higher retail price or makeother changes to the preferred member's products and services inpreparation for resale. This information may be stored in event database530 (FIG. 5 ).

FIG. 7 shows exemplary components and information that may be displayedby web server application 520 (FIG. 5 ), consistent with the presentinvention. As shown, web server application 520 may display an ecommercestorefront 700 that may allow reseller members to resell products andservices, as outlined in step 634 (FIG. 6 ). This information may bedisplayed as a web page and/or user interfaces. Orders placed throughstorefront 700 may result in purchase orders generated, delivered, andpaid for via payment method 800, as described below.

Portal 112 may provide reseller members ecommerce storefront templates.These storefront templates may be reused, from member-to-member or fromstorefront-to-storefront. The storefront templates may includeadditional information related to displaying storefront 700. Suchinformation may include, for example, standard wording, logos, art,formatting specifications, layouts, and other information that may helpreseller members create an ecommerce storefront. By selecting astorefront template, members may initiate the creation of a newecommerce storefront in portal 112.

Reseller members may populate the selected storefront template withelectronic artifacts. Such artifacts may include, for example, logos702, terms & conditions 706, photographs, marketing information,products information, services information, pricing information, andother information that may assist reseller members in selling productsand services for events. Logos 702 may identify the reseller member.Alternatively, logos 702 may identify other members or third-parties.

Portal 112 may selectively prompt reseller members to populate theselected storefront template with particular information. Suchinformation may include, for example, identification of the geographicarea(s) serviced by storefront 700. This may assist, for example, portal112 in allowing members to selectively view information based on thegeographic area(s) served by reseller members.

Reseller members may also identify products and services to makeavailable in storefront 700 by selecting them or otherwise providingthem to portal 112. Such products and services may include, for example,those negotiated and agreed-upon in steps 622 through 638 (FIGS. 6 ).

Reseller members may organize or otherwise arrange products and servicesin storefront 700 by categorizing them into categories 710. Categories710 may include a grouping of products and services by generalidentifying topics. Such groupings may include, for example, a categorylabeled “Linens” and contain information related to tablecloths,napkins, chair covers, and all other textile products. Alternatively,categories 710 may include packages of multiple products and services.Such packages may include, for example, a “Break-out Meeting Package”that contains some or all of rental projectors, free-standing rentalprojector screens, and free-standing paper easels.

Portal 112 may render information entered, provided, or otherwisesupplied by reseller members in relation to storefront 700 in the formof web pages and/or user interfaces. Portal 112 may also make the webpages accessible by assigning a unique Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an exemplary method, which may be performed byportal 112, for members to make payments to other members. Paymentmethod 800 may be performed, for example, separately for eachtransaction that occurs in portal 112. Alternatively, method 800 may beperformed for a collection of transactions, some or all of which aremanaged in portal 112.

In step 802, portal 112 may receive financial account information frommember vendors 102, venues 104, planners 106, or users 108. Thisinformation may facilitate payments between members. For example, membervenues 104 may only accept direct deposits associated with rentalpayments for events. By entering financial account information, membervenues 104 may obtain direct deposit payments via portal 112 withouthaving to provide specific financial account information, such asrouting and account numbers, to other members. Such financial accountinformation may include, for example, bank account information, bankrouting numbers, credit card information, automated clearing houseinformation, and other information related to financial accounts. Thisinformation may be stored in event database 530 (FIG. 5 ).

In step 806, portal 112 may receive one or more invoice templates frommember vendors 102, venues 104, planners 106, and users 108. Theseinvoice templates may be reused, from event-to-event or fromtransaction-to-transaction, by the member. The invoice templates mayinclude additional information related to payments. Such information mayinclude, for example, standard wording, logos, formatting details, andother information that may stay consistent from invoice-to-invoice. Forexample, the invoice template may have language at the bottom whichreflects the legal obligations of the recipient of the invoiced productsand services and a standard due date, such as “due thirty days fromreceipt” or “five-percent discount for payments made within 15 days fromreceipt.” This information may be stored in event database 530 (FIG. 5). This information may also be included with the invoice prepared instep 814, as described below.

In step 810, portal 112 may receive from members a selection of aninvoice template from among the templates submitted in step 806. Theselected invoice template may be used to create an invoice, The invoicemay eventually be sent to the member who is required to make paymentsrelated to an event. Additionally, if portal 112 receives only oneinvoice template from the member, step 810 may be skipped.

In step 814, portal 112 may receive information related to an invoicefrom members preparing and creating the invoice. Such information mayinclude, for example, details of the products and services provided foran event, details about the person and/or entity responsible for makingthe payment, details about the recipient(s) of the invoice, payment duedate, details about the required approvals, and other informationrelated to invoices. This information may be stored in event database530 (FIG. 5 ). Portal 112 may prompt members to enter particularinformation, in a particular order. Alternatively, members may entersome and/or all of the information manually. Portal 112 may thengenerate or otherwise prepare the invoice.

Additionally, if the member creating the invoice later decides to use adifferent invoice template, portal 112 may return to step 810.Alternatively, if the member creating the invoice decides to use adifferent template before the invoice is created in step 814,information entered into the first-selected invoice template may betransferred to the later-selected invoice template.

In step 818, portal 112 may send the invoice to the member identified asthe recipient of the invoice. Alternatively, portal 112 may send theinvoice to a non-member recipient. The invoice may be deliveredelectronically, and the recipient member may be notified electronicallythat an invoice has been delivered with instructions on how the invoicemay be retrieved.

Once the invoice is retrieved, the recipient member may take one or moreactions related to the invoice, First, in step 822, portal 112 maydetermine if the recipient of the invoice has any questions or disputesrelated to the invoice. if the recipient has any questions or disputesrelated to the invoice, portal 112 may return to step 814 and send asummary of the questions and disputes to the member that created theinvoice. After the recipient and creator of the invoice negotiate thecontents of the invoice, portal 112 may return to step 814 and receiveupdated information related to the invoice from the ember preparing andcreating the invoice, if the invoice contents are negotiated viacommunications within environment 100, the communications may be loggedand stored in event database 530 (FIG. 5 ). Alternatively, if there areno questions or disputes related to the invoice, portal 112 may proceedto step 826.

Certain invoices may require approval from a plurality of members. Somecompanies may, for example, require two approvals for paying invoicesover a certain threshold amount. In step 826, portal 112 may determineif additional approvals are needed before proceeding to pay the invoice.Additionally, portal 112 may determine whose approvals are needed. Insuch a situation, portal 112 may return to step 814 and add the names ofthe additional approval members to the list of invoice recipients. Onceall the appropriate approvals are received, portal 112 may proceed tostep 830.

In step 830, portal 112 determines when the invoice needs to be paid. Ifportal 112 determines that the invoice needs to be paid immediately,portal 112 may proceed to step 838. If payment is not due immediatelybut the invoice recipient(s) decides to pay it immediately, portal 112may proceed to step 838. Alternatively, if payment is not dueimmediately and the invoice recipient(s) do not want to pay the invoiceimmediately, portal 112 may proceed to step 834.

In step 834, portal 112 may the an invoice. By filing an invoice,members decide that they do not want to do anything with the invoice atthe moment. If members decide to file an invoice, portal 112 may sendperiodic notifications regarding the status of the invoice. Suchnotifications may include, for example, reminders of the due date,reminders of the amount due, reminders that additional approvals areneeded, instructions on how to dispute the invoice, or other informationrelated to invoices. This information may be stored in event database530 (FIG. 5 ). Once members decide to continue with the payment of theinvoice, portal 112 may proceed to step 838. Also, once invoices becomeimmediately due, portal 112 may proceed to step 838. Alternatively, ifmembers decide to dispute or otherwise question the invoice before thedue date, portal 112 may return to step 814 or step 822.

In step 838, portal 112 may route a member's payment to the accountinformation received in step 802. Additionally, portal 112 may usefinancial account information received in step 802 to make the payment.If no such information was provided in step 802, portal 112 may promptthe member for payment information, Portal 112 may receive paymentinformation from a member. Such information may include, for example, acredit card number, a debit card number, and information that identifiesother types of payment methods.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that computer programs andapplications for implementing the systems and methods described hereinmay be stored on and/or read from computer-readable storage media. Thecomputer-readable storage media may have stored thereoncomputer-executable instructions which, when executed by a computer,cause the computer to perform, among other things, the methods andprocesses disclosed herein. Exemplary computer-readable storage mediamay include magnetic storage devices, such as a hard disk, a floppydisk, magnetic tape, or another magnetic storage device known in theart; optical storage devices, such as CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or anotheroptical storage device known in the art; and/or electronic storagedevices, such as EPROM, a flash drive, or another integrated circuitstorage device known in the art. The computer-readable storage media maybe embodied by or in one or more components of exemplary environment 100(FIG. 1 ).

One skilled in the art will further realize that the methods andprocesses illustrated in this description may be implemented in avariety of ways and may include multiple other modules, programs,applications, scripts, processes, threads, or code sections that may allfunctionally interrelate to accomplish the individual tasks describedabove. For example, it is contemplated that these methods and processesmay be implemented using commercially available software tools; usingcustom object-oriented computer code written in programming languages;using applets written in the Java programming language; or may beimplemented in hardware with discrete electrical components, or as oneor more hardwired application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) customdesigned for this purpose. In addition, the disclosure may beimplemented in a variety of different data communication networkenvironments and may use software, hardware, or a combination ofhardware and software to provide the disclosed functions.

Other embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practiceof one or more embodiments of the invention disclosed herein. It isintended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplaryonly, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated bythe following claims.

In the preceding specification, various embodiments have been describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings. It will, however, beevident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto, andadditional embodiments may be implemented, without departing from thebroader scope of the invention as set forth in the claims that follow.The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded in anillustrative rather than restrictive sense. It is intended that thespecification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a truescope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the followingclaims.

1. A computer-implemented method of supplying information regardingentities associated with the event-planning industry, comprising:receiving, by a portal, requests from entities to become members;selectively granting the requests by the portal; receiving informationby the portal from a plurality of first members; in response to requestsfrom the first members, creating member files in a database using thereceived information, the member files corresponding to the firstmembers; receiving an information request by the portal from a secondmember; and selectively supplying by the portal to the second member,information from at least one of the member files, the suppliedinformation being selected based on the request. 2-20. (canceled)